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We're feeling rather evangelical today....

While A Reader's Respite makes no religious claims whatsoever, we do enjoy reading some of the more *ahem* extreme ends of the theological spectrum. It may have to do with our evangelical upbringing (nothing like a Mormon family marrying into a bunch of evangelical Baptists for sheer entertainment value), but whatever the reason, here are a few compelling reads we've had our nose stuck into the past few weeks.

We downloaded this book to our Amazonian Devil Device after reading a compelling review on At Home With Books. And it was worth it. Author Kevin Roose was a journalism major at Brown University when he decided to see what all the evangelical hoopla was about down at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, a four year college in Virginia and the largest evangelical university in the world, and he documents his experiences here.

You just can't escape the humor in a secular student of the world being thrown into what he calls "Bible Boot Camp." Roose's biblical knowledge was scant as best, "...I knew the basics of the Genesis story (Adam names the animals, Eve bites an apple, and we all break into jazz squares), I could probably have named the four Gospels if you have me a minute or two, but that's where my Bible knowledge ended." Suffice it to say that his learning curve was pretty steep.

But rather than approaching the experiment with malice (satirist P.J. O'Rourke is credited here with comparing making fun of born-again Christians to "hunting dairy cows with a high-powered rifle and scope"), Roose makes a concerted effort to open his mind to new experiences and the payoff is a big one.

While he doesn't experience any kind of religious epiphany while at Liberty, he does learn the value of reserving judgement and practicing compassion. Despite taking biology classes that spend all their time refuting evolution and attending groups like Every Man's Battle (to combat the sin of masturbation), Roose strips away the stereotypes to reveal young, college-aged students just trying to find their place in this world, much like their secular counterparts.

Highly recommended for the humor and the compassion, A Reader's Respite heartily encourages you to read this one.

Switching denominations here, we moved on to Kyria Abrahams hysterical account of growing up as a Jehovah's Witness. Abrahams goes less for insight and more for the humor (of which there is apparently endless fodder in this particular religious sect) in this memoir, poking fun at her childhood and young adult years spent in bewildrement over the myriad of rules and regulations set forth by doctrine.

Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Elie Wiesel were all considered bad associations. Not only did they not worship Jehovah, but they were activists, which meant they didn't trust in God to make changes on this earth and felt the need to take matters into their own hands. They were turning people away from Jehovah.

My father said this is probably why John Lennon was shot, becase God knew he was too close to bringing peace to the whole world.

The point was, if someone wasn't a Jehovah's Witnesses, he was going to die at Armageddon, and there was no point in befriending the condemned.

I'm Perfect, You're Doomed, by Kyria Abrahams

While you won't find any great philosophical revelations here, you will find slapstick comedy that will keep you in stitches. Light-hearted and irreverant, Abrahams bears no obvious malice over her upbringing, she simply sees the humor in it. And there's definately something to be said for that.

One last book, here, this one written by Jon Krakauer (he of Into Thin Air and Into the Wild fame). For those of you who like your religious exposes on the more serious side, Under the Banner of Heaven is not to be missed.

Part true crime, part Mormon expose, this book focuses on the pockets of fundamentalist Mormons that have flourished in years past in Utah, Idaho and the Four Corners area. Wrapped around the murder of a young Mormon woman and her infant daughter committed by fundamentalists, the more sordid side of this sect is uncovered in this compelling book.

Although heartbreaking in it's details, this book is difficult to put down once you turn the first page and since the capture of fundamentalist leader Warren Jeffs in the years following publication of this book ,there is much follow-up available on the internet for those who find this tale as riveting as we did.

We're happy to be able to offer a copy of Kyria Abrahams' memoir I'm Perfect, You're Doomed to TWO lucky winners. Just leave us a comment telling us why you'd like to read this one and on July 13th, we'll announce two random winners (international peeps are welcome, too!).

"I'm Perfect, You're Doomed" sounds like a fun read. I'm a volunteer youth leader with the high school kids at my church. And I think there's some kids and families who have some rather interesting views/applications of their faith. It's always interesting to read books like this, laugh, and then reexamine what I say I believe and how that plays out in my own life. And also help the kids to do the same.

My goodness, but you've been in a religious mood here lately. I have The Unlikely Disciple and hope to read it soon. I'd love to read I'm Perfect, You're Doomed because I used to work with a bunch of Jehovah's Witnesses. milou2ster(at)gmail.com

I would love to read "I'm perfect, you're doomed" because it sounds like it was written by a member of my family! (so you'd think they'd just give me a copy of the book! maybe it isn't them, afterall). I did read Under the Banner of Heaven and was so intrigued I did extensive follow up research on the legal case. It's not a book you forget. So yes, please enter me into the Theological Outliers Contest.

Count me in! My husband's best friend is a Jehovah's Witness (or J-dub as we call it, lol) and the religion fascinates me. I am a Christian and we always compare our two religions, it always seems to me that they just take the same beliefs we have but push them to the extreme. Anyway, I'd love to be entered in the giveaway.

Also, I read Under the Banner of Heaven awhile ago and was completely intrigued by the book. I blew through it so quickly! Thanks for your thoughts on The Unlikely Disciple, I've been seeing that one everywhere and I'm starting to be interested!

I remember as a kid I had a friend in school who was a JW. I just could not understand the no birthdays/no holidays/no fun allowed concepts. It was, like, third grade, so was too little to figure it out.

As a graduate of Liberty University and a Christian, I find the concept of Unlikely Disciple interesting...thanks for bringing it to my attention! Apparently I graduated the semester before he was there, so I didn't know about this...

I was raised a Jehovah's Witness, and it's a relief for there to be a humorous take on it! Sometimes laughter really is the best course, and though I have enjoyed reading other people's experiences growing up in this very extreme religion, I very much look forward to reading Kyria's version!

These books all sound like something really unusual. And I appreciate it when authors present what happened, how it made them personally feel or think, and then leave it to the reader what to make of it rather than getting 'lecturey' about interpretation.

This reminds me that I've put 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible!' on my TBR.

What a fantastic trio of great reviews! I've been wanting to read the Kevin Roose book since I saw Alyce's review -- glad to hear it worked for you too!

And "Under the Banner of Heaven" was an excellent read ... I'm a huge Jon Krakauer fan and although this was a bit of a departure for him, he did a great job with a pretty complex story. I love when authors can tie together a true story, history and a bit of themselves and make it all work.

So I would LOVE to be entered to win "I'm Perfect, You're Doomed." Aside from the brilliantly funny cover, it sounds right up my alley -- I love memoirs, I love humor and I love books that explore religions I don't know much about.

I'm glad to see you included Under the Banner of Heaven...I absolutely love Jon Krakauer's writing and I was completely enthralled with this book. If you have not already read Into Thin Air, please do.

I would love a chance to win I'm Perfect, You're Doomed! It looks like a very entertainting and interesting read.

They all sound great! I've listened to the audiobook of Into the Wild so I'm familiar with Krakauer's writing style and quality of research. And I'm always up for a book about people seeing life from the other side of the glass. And, of course, humor is always a fabulous quality in a book. So sign me up please.

Oh, how I want to read all of those books!!! I've never read anything about Jehovah's Witnesses before and, as I live a mere 40ish minutes from Liberty University, The Unlikely Disciple is a must read for me. Those might be good because I'm on the lookout for a new church. I might learn about some to avoid. :)

I've got a problem. I keep finding new (to me) book blogs to follow. On these blogs, I keep finding reviews that make me want to read more books. I carefully add these books to my "must read" list. The list gets longer and longer...Thanks for being part of the problem!

Michele, of these books I have only read the last one, Under The Banner..." and I totally agree with you. What an amazing, sobering, book. It was definitely un-put-downable. It is such a prime example of the horror that can result from being 100% sure you are hearing from "God".I'd love to read "I'm Perfect, You're Doomed" because I am always interested in learning more about the wackiness of religious exclusivism. And the silliness of religious legalism.

Krakauer's book gave me a new understanding for the persecution of Mormons -- a sad chapter for a nation built on religious freedom. It's a great read, one that my college-age daughter is diving into this summer.p.s. Please keep me out of the drawing.

No need to enter me. I just wanted to say that I read the first few chapters of Under the Banner of Heaven before I had to return it to the library unread. I still intend to get it back at some point and read the rest of it.

I already have "Under the Banner of Heaven" on my TBR pile. I'm going to add "I'm Perfect, You're Doomed". I dated a man who was raised as a Jehovah Witness and became fascinated with what he was taught growing up and how it seemed to affect him everyday of his adult life.

This sounds like a good one. I would like to read it because I am pretty good friends with a Jehovah Witness, although she hasn't ever stuffed her religion down my throat, you can definitely see the differences.joannelong74 AT gmail DOT com

Honestly and sincerely, I would very VERY much love the chance to read I'm Perfect, You're Doomed - especially since I live in a very fundamentalist locale, and my own eclectic upbringing makes it more difficult to relate - but I've got a great sense of humor as well as respect for the subject, so this would be a huge hit at my house!PLUS I've almost finished reading 'How to Profit from the upcoming Rapture' - and it's one of the wittiest, though not unkind, books I've yet to have the pleasure of owning! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE enter me to win this one and I thank you so much for the opportunity :)

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